geothermal greenhouses produce vegetables all year round

Very close to the polar circle, Iceland is a volcanic land, deprived of trees, with harsh winters. A climate far from ideal for growing vegetables. And yet here are grown bananas, tomatoes, mushrooms. Quantities of vegetables ripen all year round in greenhouses heated in the middle of ice and snow, thanks to geothermal energy. Icelanders can stock up on fresh, local products in all the city’s supermarkets. “It is very important to eat vegetables produced in Iceland. They are good for your health, they are really better than the others, and without any pesticides”boasts a man.

A constant temperature

The majority of the vegetables grow in the 150 agricultural vegetable farms in the country, using energy from the subsoil. A farm has been growing mushrooms for 30 years, and produces 11 tons a week. In the humidity of these rooms, the temperature remains between 15 and 20 degrees, thanks to geothermal energy. “We capture via boreholes that are all around us. Natural hot water, present in the basement, under our feet. Boiling water circulates in the pipes, heats the rooms at a constant temperature, even by – 20 degrees outside”, explains Evar Eyfjord Sigurdsson, of “Fludassveppir Farmers”. In the country, there is even a banana plantation for scientific reasons.